I am the only candidate who has actually run an election. As secretary of state, I oversee voter registration and elections. Under my leadership, it's easier than ever before to register, and Colorado leads the nation in voter registration. I am the only candidate who has experience registering businesses and charities. Since taking office, Colorado has added over 100,000 businesses, thanks partially to an inexpensive and easy process available to Coloradans to start new businesses.

Describe your leadership style.

I am the only candidate that understands that there is nothing political about running clean elections and making it easy for Coloradans to start new businesses. My re-election is being supported by election officials across the political spectrum. Among them are county clerk and recorders that include Republicans, unaffiliated clerks and many of the Democrats. I have earned their support because they know that I'm a principled leader who believes in transparency and accountability.

What are the most important duties of the secretary of state?

I've worked hand-in-hand with county clerks to rapidly and safely modernize Colorado's ability to conduct and oversee elections of all sizes, recently directing the statewide implementation of new voting systems. I've placed a great deal of emphasis on election integrity and, in 2017, oversaw Colorado's first ever statewide risk-limiting audit, designed to catch election errors. It's no surprise that the Washington Post recently called Colorado “the safest state to cast a vote.”

What improvements can be made to the way elections are run in Colorado?

Under my leadership, Colorado has become a national model of excellence for innovation and cybersecurity. In 2016, when Russian hackers attempted to interfere with U.S. elections, Colorado was ready because, “The state invested in security when the only reward was public trust, not national interests.” Thanks to our recently implemented risk-limiting audit, we can safely say that no votes were changed by foreign actors. But, as cyber threats evolve, we must continue to be ready.

If elected, what will your top priority be in January?

My top priority will be to maintain the standing of the Colorado Secretary of State's Office as a national model of innovation, fairness, transparency and excellence. Under my leadership, Colorado has won seven national awards in the areas of innovation and cybersecurity, and my expectation is that we will continue to increase our national standing in my next four years as secretary of state.